I started out about how the girls were gone and how quiet it was.  I didn’t chase the rabbit too far.  The point is this.  My children will get a copy of this journal and when they find someone to share their life with I will encourage them to read, understand, and follow it.  After all, this is one area of my life I cannot lead by example, but can encourage.

Sharon, Karlee (my great neice), Stephen, and Mary.

My family.  It wasn’t complete until this past Sunday, when the kid’s Mom and I picked up Stephen in Lafayette.  He came home on leave from the Army.  I hadn’t seen him in almost a year.  He is currently stationed in Ft. Lee, Va, and should be in Ft. Sill, OK. by the end of January.

For those of my friends who are somehow connected to any branch of the military, you know how I feel.  For those who don’t know, just please keep Stephen, and every other service member, and their families, in your thoughts and prayers during this season.  A lot of families aren’t as blessed as I am this Christmas.

The reason I bring it up, is this is pretty much a philosophy of life for me that was instilled to me by my parents, and I’ve tried to pass it on to my children.  My parents have been my heros for as long as I can remember.  My Dad a man, who spent 20 years in Unca Sam’s Misguided Children (United States Marine Corps, Semper Fi), and when we moved to the area I grew up in, spent another 20 years volunteering his time with the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office.  He also went and finished college (actually graduated college the same year I graduated High School).  Mom, who had to stay behind while Dad was deployed to Japan and the Mediterranean, who also had to handle two tow-headed boys by herself.  And in later years, while Dad worked, went to school, volunteered, etc.  Mom was the one who still did everything she had before, yet wound up getting her LPN and working a job in addition to raising us boys.  And she did that for 20 years to retire from Ft. Polk.

I go into this to try to lay a foundation as to why I am the way I am….. Yes, I volunteer.  For the last 14 years I have been involved with Fire, EMS, and Police at various levels, either as a job, or as a volunteer.  I have been accused of having a hero complex, which surprised me.  I honestly don’t think about things, I just see an opportunity, and feel the need to help.  And often my family has had to bear the brunt of this attitude.  My kids have spent many an hour sitting in the vehicle on the side of the road while Mom, Dad, and Stepmom went into a fire/medical scene to help someone.  Not knowing who that person was, or most times not even knowing the outcome after the ambulance left, in the cases of medical calls.  Has that effected my family?  Undoubtedly.  My first wife became an EMT, first as a volunteer, then as a full time occupation, and still works in the field.  Our son, became a volunteer Firefighter at the earliest possible age, 16, and also studied for and passed his Medical First Responder.  He participated in many calls, and worked his rear off on all of them.  Our daughter is itching to join and turns 16 in a couple of weeks.  My second wife also joined the department and became a First Responder.

But the most humbling aspect of doing this for so many years, is to be the recipient of these acts of kindness.  People, who for no other reason than that they can, have blessed me and my girls.  Upon separating from my second wife, I decided that myself and the girls would move back to the old place and move back in.  A daunting task, and later proved impossible, except for one thing…..Kindness of others.

Appliances, beds, a well hold tank.  These items, along with others, have allowed me and the girls to move back in to the house.  This doesn’t even include the help with cleaning and arranging the house.  Or even listening to me be frustrated because I didn’t literally know how to get from point A to B.  Kind words of encouragement kept coming from various people, friends new and old, and even hearing “if you need something, hollar”….and know that they mean it.  There’s no way I can even attempt to list the people or items that have helped.  If I tried to, I would miss something, or someone, and that would hurt them.  Just know, you have reinforced my belief in life, to help others.  God has blessed me.  Family, friends, perfect strangers.  All were placed in my path, I believe, by God, to help me and the girls.  From the bottom of my heart, Thank You, and God Bless…..

There are several iconic moments in a person’s life, doesn’t really matter what the specific moment is; the birth of a child, the passing of a loved one, or a tragedy on a greater scale, like 9/11.  I was touched by 9/11 for several reasons, not the least of which was my status as a Desert Shield/Storm Veteran, or (at that time) the Assistant Chief for Allen Parish Fire District #3, or as a Medical First Responder for the same organization.  You see, I entered the military for several reasons.  My Grandfather was a veteran of WWII, and my Father was a Vietnam vet.  Dad also retired from the Marine Corps.  So there is a sense of duty in my family to serve.  My son continues that tradition in the US Army today.  From  that perspective, I was appalled at these attacks, and the tremendous loss of life.  Not only Americans, but I remember reading from somewhere, that there were countries from all over the globe that lost lives within the Twin Towers, due to the nature of business conducted there.

Another perspective from which I viewed this was AS a Firefighter.  I know, little podunk Fire District in rural Louisiana cannot compare to FDNY, but the skills learned by members of our Fire District are the same as those learned by FDNY.  Even still, there’s a comraderie between Firefighters.  Doesn’t matter if they are career, or volunteer.  On Mondays evenings, our department meets and conducts drills, training, administrative, and other duties associated with the Department.  On September 10, 2001, we conducted a drill at the local school.  As the single largest building within the boundaries of our Fire District, we felt it prudent to practice skills in the same environment we could possibly use them in.  That evening, we practiced Search and Rescue.  This involved getting into our bunker gear, crawling on our hands and knees down the hallway, and entering classrooms to search for kids in the school.  Tiring, but knowing that skill could be called on at any time, and the fact that most, if not all, of the members of the Department either had children in this school, or had attended this school growing up.  My point here is, I remember a video of FDNY rolling up to the Twin Towers, crew members exiting the vehicles, and entering the building…..To perform SEARCH AND RESCUE…..I know that at some level, they were doing what we had trained the night before to do, and they did it….which resulted in 343 LODD (Line Of Duty Deaths) for FDNY.  This shook me to the core.  As time went on, I became the Fire Chief, earned my EMT, wound up leading this same department.  I don’t anymore, but during this time, I remember teaching classes, or attending classes given by LSU-FETI, TEEX (Texas A&M), and other entities.  If, at anytime, I asked myself why was I involved in these activities, I remembered 343…..You would never know what skill set you would need, or at what level of sacrifice would be involved while carrying them out.  We always tried our best to mitigate hazards on a call, but the nature of what were doing is so inherently dangerous, there is no possible way to mitigate them.  What we are doing….IS DANGEROUS.

Even from these perspectives, and now, 10 years later I am seeing this buildup to commemorate this tragedy, I still feel a sense of loss.  Saturday morning, I had caught glimpses of the Today Show, and saw how Ground Zero looks now.  And throughout the day I would see interviews of survivors, old video of the towers collapsing, and other points of interest that our media likes to hammer on.  And I found something out.  I cannot look at those videos without tearing up, or out right crying.  I cannot watch or listen to people talk about it to any great extent.  I just don’t really know how to describe the emotions that come forth.

Where was I when 9/11 occurred?  I was at work.  And I personally will never forget that day…….

Until I get my place back up to snuff, I am staying with my parents.  Again, the perfect opportunity for an “I told you so”, but that hasn’t happened, only a willingness to accept her crazy son and the girls back into their home.  As for those I am leaving behind, I am sorry.  You just don’t know how much my heart goes out to the kids involved in this situation.  I love all 3 of you, and still want to be a part of your life.  How much depends on how much you are willing for me to be involved.

This great circle I mentioned is simply this.  If your heart never truly leaves home, then you don’t have to worry about going back home….You were already there….

Anyway, I hope to be on here more often.  Even downloaded the app for my Droid.  We will see…..

I bet you looked at what I have written and the header and went “huh”?  Well, we didn’t actually go down the rabbit trail.  Well, not much anyway.  This is how it ties together.  Legacy?  Look to  Red’s children and grandchildren.  There lies a person’s legacy.  These descendants are the sum of not only Red, but of his wife and those that come into the line as it moves downstream.  All of  Red’s children, and grandchildren, were respectful.  They listened to Red’s co-workers tell of stories of Red’s 30+ years at Ft. Polk.  And when I say co-workers, the place was full.  At no time did I hear anyone say anything negative about Red’s family.  To a fault, everyone of them listened to these stories, discovering a new part of the loved one that left them.  In fact, they invited these stories.  Every co-worker saw Red in all of his family, and to an extent, these co-workers were comforted by the act of telling.

It gets a person wondering.  How does my legacy stack up?  Well I know that mine does not, not now anyways.  But I will share something.   I have tried to be a father that my kids could look up to.  Sometimes I have been successful, a lot of times I haven’t.  Now that my kids are older, sometimes I can even look up to them.  For those that don’t know me, I need to explain something.  I have 6 children, 3 are biologically mine, 3 aren’t.  3 are boys, 3 are girls. All of them are a handful.  And often, they drive me nuts!  But I love them.

I feel the need to talk about two of them.  Stephen and Mary.  Stephen went to Literary Rally in Lake Charles this weekend.  He not only qualified for the State Literary Rally, this is the third time in his four years of high school.  Smart?  Yes.  But there’s more to Stephen.  He has been a Volunteer Firefighter since he’s been 16.  He’s been certified as a Medical First Responder by the state of Louisiana. And now, as he’s getting ready to graduate, he is going into the Air Force.  He is going in as a Flight Medic, which is equal to an EMT basic, but within the structure of the military, is able to do more.  Proud of him?  That doesn’t begin to cover it.  He is a young man that any parent could be proud of.

Now we come to Miss Mary.  My young lady, not!  If any of these kids take after me it’s Mary.  This weekend she surprised not only me, but our entire congregation, except the music director.  Now, Mary loves to sing with the radio, and if you listen to her, she sounds pretty good.  But to stand in front of a crowd, and sing, sing  acapella (without music), and sound good!  I was amazed.  And proud.  Mary?  She took it all in stride.

My kids amaze me.  I know as time goes on, that I will be able to write posts on the other 4.  Each of my kids are unique, but they all share one trait.  No matter if they are my children by blood, or by marriage, they have a father who is proud of them.  A father who loves them.  I just hope that one day people will see me in them.  And are comforted by that.

By no means am I an expert at anything, but being well-rounded (yeah, I know…it IS a pun), a lot of times seems to work out better than some of the experts that I’ve seen.  FEMA and Hurricane Katrina come to mind.  I got into Emergency Response in 1997 when I worked for International Paper (AzChem).  There was an opening on the Fire Brigade and Confined Space/High Angle Rescue Team.  I went to the training and never looked back.  After being laid off (plant closed) eventually I wound up working for AzChem’s competition, MeadWestvaco, where I not only got to renew my certifications, but I got to add HazMat Technician.  Yeah, we’re the guys in the space suits when they find anthrax, or things of that nature.  Cool as crap, but outside of the plant, useless….Unless you’re a volunteer fireman….

live burn exercise

This photo was taken at an exercise with a neighboring fire district.  The house had caught fire a few months before, but the home owner asked for assistance in burning it again, to clear off the property.  So we jumped on it as a perfect training opportunity.  I didn’t know it at the time, but my wife snapped my pic when my back was to her and this was the result.

Here’s a couple more from Texas A&M, Brayton Fire School.

Believe it or not I am the guy on the nozzle.

If I woulda known that Wayne Partridge was in there we would have gone to lunch...LOL

It’s fun to do these things, and it’s great to have the ability to translate it into something that can help the community I live in.  Like everything else it has it’s ups and downs, but overall it’s great!

Now, to most that know both of us, think that we have some sort of comedic routine going.  Especially on Facebook.  If one of us comments on a mutual friends post, well of course, the other feels obligated to post his version also.

Example:

ME

quote from Jinksto’s post…”Really not liking front office people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH………………………. Engineers Unite!”…LMAO

Said I would leave the area when I graduated high school, and for the most part I have, tho the extent I hardly ever go back there.  I do keep up with friends and family (Facebook….the coolest invention in the 21st century), but I live about an hour and a lifetime away.

I live in the same type area I grew up in….RURAL…And would love to keep it that way.  They say there’s not much to do living out here, but my philosophy is there is what you make of it.  Do we stay home alot? Yes, but between Church, the Fire District (more on that in another post), 6 kids, my family that relocated out here (Kinda like old style living…more on THAT in another post), Ham Radio, Sheriffs Office, and remodeling the house I think we tend to keep busy.  Oh yeah, forgot about the job too.   Can’t forget about that.  Maybe one day I will grow up and be able to work from home, like Jinksto….nah…I’m too lazy.  Might as well be honest, sides, Julie has way too much work for me to do here.  Gotta catch the breaks from work.

Work…..these days I work for a major Defense Contractor, as a Environmental, Health, and Safety Inspector, at Fort Polk, Louisiana.  Fun?  It has it’s moments.  Wound up working for Northrop, well, cause I needed the job.  I have worked in the Specialty Chemical Industry for about 15 years.  What’s Specialty Chemicals?  Long story.  Google “Arizona Chemical” and “MeadWestvaco”.  Those are both companies I worked for.  Or just look up Naval Stores.  Anyway, I would say that I have been blessed in finding this job.  Wished it payed more (who don’t wish that with their job), but I am not chained down to a desk, get to interact with all 600 plus employees, and generally get to do stuff that I like.

Blessings.  A wise person said to count your blessings.  Honestly, I wish I could.  A wife that loves me (of course, I love her back), family (yep, much family), an ol’ country Church, and friends.  And all of these love me in spite of who I am or who I have been.  Of course, God is always first.

I guess as this develops, if I can actually write coherent sentences, I will post things that may enlighten, humor, maybe even make ya sit up and listen.  No promises, but we will just have to see.  As for material?  Trust me.  Having worked Fire, EMS, Sheriff’s Deputy, Industrial Emergency Response, Military, and finally having the family that I do, I honestly don’t know how I can run out of material.

Well, off to bed.  Told ya.  Julie’s got it all planned out……..Whew